Gee Brad, I know chapel is a product you're selling, but I never thought you would take it so far as to begin operating on the retail calendar.
Hooray for Ethos Groups. Seriously, great idea. It's always good to see Christians get off their pew-hardened asses and actually do something that puts their faith into action. Oh, and I've decided to start a betting pool. $5 buy in, taking bets on what the average membership in the Ethos Groups will be. If SNU holds to its historical standards, each group should see a turnout of about five to ten people. [Three cheers for apathy!] And they're off!
Hooray for a tiny change in the "worship" experience!
I'm glad to see that even without Drew's prompting, the ladies remembered to echo at the end of the first song all by themselves. Pat yourselves on the back for remembering your years of training.
Elizabeth Chrisman graced the stage for the first time today. [Way to pop that cherry.] It's a shame she had to play with the Maldonator. His hyper-affected voice completely drowned out her violin. Here's a thought, Jairo - why don't you tone it down a bit and let a legitimate musician shine for once? When we could hear her [such as in the beginning of the second song] she sounded beautiful - wish we could have had more of that.
Speaking of the wonders of the second song, [which sounded an awful lot like a Jonas Brothers ballad - I'm surprised girls weren't throwing their panties onstage for Jesus] Jairo busted out his siren for that one. At first I thought it might be a police raid, then I realized it was just the man himself on stage. There were some moments where our man looked as if he was suffering from a case of Johnmayerstagefacitosis. [See fig. 1.]
Fig. 1
It's a shame he wasn't suffering from John Mayer voice. Lord knows we were suffering from Jairo's.
At this point I'd like to give a shout-out to all my peeps in the Mez. It's good to know that someone has finally recognized the spiritual superiority of the people who sit in the Mezzanine. They've been the holiest among us all along, but now their secret's out. I know where I'll be sitting tomorrow...
It's always interesting to listen to missionaries speak in church. Why? Well, for one, they always tell stories, and are always very excited about the stories they tell. This is not terribly interesting within itself, but it becomes so when one realizes how few people are actually paying attention to what they are saying, and how the few audience members that are listening are not nearly as excited to hear the story as the missionaries are to tell it. Oh well, I guess that comes with being an evangelical American. [Answer Mia's question for me: "Do you listen, or do you wait to speak?"]
It is my unfortunate pleasure to report to you at this time that, despite my best efforts, I have been foiled. It was, and still is, the purpose of this blog to try and provide meaningful reflection and challenging commentary regarding the goings on in chapel. However, after two weeks of exciting blog posts, facebook debate, and IM conversations, His Holiness the Strawn seems to have uncovered my Achilles heel. If the purpose of my efforts is to enrich the intellectual lives of the student population by commenting on chapel services and challenging some of the views and positions presented therein, then it follows that I need something to comment on. However, His Holiness has discovered this and has thwarted any and all attempts to have this blog become anything beyond a gleaming beacon of satire by removing from chapel all subjects of substance, educational value, or student interest. Touché, o enlightened one. But I'm not worried, I'll get you yet! And your little dog too!
Here's to hoping something tomorrow presents me, and all of you, with something worth discussing.
"Keep near me and you will be safe."
Daedalus
9 comments:
My favorite imaginary person, Amber "Daedalus" Jackson...
It is a rare occasion that I genuinely enjoy both chapel and your commentary, but today is one of those days.
It's nice to know that we are in agreement on the Ethos Groups. What a concept--followers of Christ are actually supposed to get up and make a difference in the world! I will confess that I have not yet been a part of any of those groups, although I tell myself every year that I will join one... (Maybe we can break that record this year. And maybe I'll see you there...haha.)
I agree that it would be nice to hear more of Elizabeth's musical talent next time, and I also enjoyed our guest speakers. It's a shame that so many people tune out during that part.
I tend to disagree that today's chapel was completely devoid of substance, since stories are an incredible means for conveying a message. Perhaps it is more discrete than having concepts shoved down our throat, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. In order to "get something" from it, we have to think--which is one of your declared goals for us.
Parables were one of Jesus's favorite didactic tools, after all.
Thanks for challenging us. Lord knows we need it around here.
Shane S.
I haven't completely agreed with everything you have said in previous posts, but I do like your intent on pushing the administration to have chapel be better than its current state.
But this post-- GROW UP!!! Don't be such an ass! Making fun of people wont get your point across. If you want chapel to be more intellectually stimulating then maybe you should abide by the same thought and your comments should be more mature and actually want to push people to get the administration to change chapel.
I really don't mind a blog that voices concerns and opinions. It is great that you have a strong opinion. But I wonder why you are so abrasive. I like Jairo's singing. It would make more sense if you just said that you didn't like it. But you just seemed to want to be talking negatively about something. Please find a more clever way to critique something or someone other than by name-calling. We are in college.
In your next post, would you mind encouraging other people besides "The Maldonator" to perform in chapel rather than just making fun of him? Lots of folks would love to, but they're afraid of being bashed in this public forum.
By the way, Drew was going to bust out a guitar solo on that second song, but his foot pedal was malfunctioning, so Jairo improvised. Let's cut him a little slack.
I agree with both Lynn and Jack. I think telling your point of view is a good idea and I understand that it is probably not possible to do so other than this blog (or at least so you think) but it's not right to be bashing everybody (especially the bands) that gets on stage. We might get more of a variety of people (if variety is what you are really looking for) if people aren't afraid of the repercussions of their participation in chapel.
Johnmayerstagefacitosis is a serious condition. However, you might have misdiagnosed Jairo. He could also be suffering from Chrismartinstagefacitosis, as evident from the following link: http://www.virginmedia.com/images/chris_martin6-gal-coldplay.jpg
As far as ethos groups are concerned, it might be that those who would ordinarily be the sorts of people who join them are already actively engaged in ministries that are not school focused. But, maybe not. I personally don't have any intention of joining one, but not because I disagree with their missions, but because I'm already far over-committed as far as my schedule is concerned.
It's a shame that people are now afraid to get onstage in chapel. By my counts Amber/ Deadalus has only "attacked" James Brown and Jairo Maldonado.
James was berated for singing a song that many people I have discussed this with on campus, myself included, feel he has no right to sing. (Our logic is that "Swing Lo" is so embedded into the slave culture of our early American heritage that it is distasteful to take it out of that context. Just as it was deemed distasteful - and I apologize for it here and now - for my own reworking of the "I Have a Dream" speech in last year's Echo.)
Jairo has been "berated" for being . . . Jairo. Make no mistake, I myself have nothing against Jairo - he has been nothing but amiable toward me. Amber is only making the same jokes at Jairo's expense that 90% of this campus are already making. Perhaps they are not everyone's cup of tea, but the fact of the matter is - whether he deserveds it or not - Jairo is the butt of a lot of jokes at SNU. I've heard worse in the Fine Arts building than I have seen from Amber.
The fact of the matter is, Amber commended a member of the worship team today. That's right, folks, she praised the violinist.
I say to those who fear setting foot on that stage: don't be afraid. Give us something of quality, something original. Go up there with conviction. And if she makes a joke at your expense, "brush ya shoulders off."
Seriously. Sticks and stones, people. If I cried every time someone called me a bitch or some other equivalent pejorative the world couldn't supply enough Prozac to get me skipping again.
Hoping the real conversations begin soon,
Danielle Marie Kellen
Perhaps someone should provide "justasanonymousasyou" with some Prozac
;o)
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